January 2014

Dear Friend,

Happy New Year!  And what a great way to start the year!

On New Years Eve we drove up to Tober to spend a few days with Chelsea and my parents.  We had a little celebration that night and then I woke up to this the next morning: 

Our time at Tober was fun as always.  It was snowy and beautiful.  We filled our time with ping pong, time on the tractor, talking, eating, 

treasure hunting, 

and completing a puzzle. 

Good times were had by all!

We then headed down to Denver for a few days, where Elias and I were able to take some time to ourselves while Summer and the boys went on adventures with Grandpa Peter,

and had fun with Nana!

Then it was time to head back to real life.  Back to our routine of work, reading dozens of books, 

 going to the children's museum, 

library,

 

and having good times at home. 

A few weeks later E had a conference in San Francisco and I just couldn't resist joining him with the kids.  He was super busy, but that didn't stop us at all.  The weather was beautiful so we hit the streets early and grabbed a few snacks as we walked through town.  

 We met up with friends, 

went swimming, 

and enjoyed the sights

 from sunrise to sunset!

 Elias had an afternoon of recruiting down at Stanford so we got to have a little visit with some dear friends.  

 Unfortunately I forgot to snap a picture with many of our friends, but it was so wonderful to see them for the quick moment that we did!

The breakfast buffet at the hotel offered little fruit smoothies in shot glasses and Summer thought she was in heaven! 

 The five days we enjoyed in California were absolutely beautiful and filled with lots of laughs! 

We partied hard and slept harder.  

 

And Summer loved the fact that every night was a slumber party. 

We flew home to enjoy some much colder, but still sunny weather in Santa Fe.  

 

Those are kind of the highlights from the month.  Except for hundreds of more sweet smiles from these three:

 

Oh, and my mom sent me some old family pictures.  While I had this picture from Summer and I exploring Santa Fe last year, 

 and she sent me this from my childhood:  

 And as everyone tells me that Summer looks just like Elias, it was fun to get this little snapshot of me as a toddler.  Here's the comparison:

 We hope the new year is going well for all of you and hope 2014 brings us together!

Love always,
Elias, Brittany, Summer, Boyd & Smith